I am planning to stay at the Columbia Icefields and do some bike training this summer. I’m looking for some information on what I might expect in terms of distances and climbs. I know that it is 100 km to Jasper and could see riding there and back in a day. What is the climb like that direction as compared to heading towards Banff for 100 km? Thanks in advance for your help.
Crikees. Bring as much clothing as you can. It can be blazing hot to snowing… all in the same day up there.
For details of elevation you can use the Banff Jasper Relay captains manual…:
http://www.bjr.ca/docs/pdf/Captains_Manual.pdf
I use a wicked site called bikely.com to map out my rides… and it provides elevation profiles too:
http://www.bikely.com/
The ride to Jasper and back includes a pretty substantial climb over the pass… that’s a tough ride. Heading south to Banff will be easier…
The ride to Jasper and back includes a pretty substantial climb over the pass… that’s a tough ride. Heading south to Banff will be easier…
But as I remember towards Banff you have a 2nd pass (Bow Summit 2069m). On a nice day it must be beautiful to ride in this area.
After IMC 2005 we drove from Jasper to Banff. One week after it was 30+C in Penticton we had quite some snow on the streets at Colombia Icefield.
Felix
I think there was a post a while ago from someone who spent a while cycle touring around the area. I’m sure a search should bring it up. Great area, I’m very jealous.
I am so jealous of you. The Icefeilds is a great place to be stuck for the summer. I take it you will be working there. Are you with Parks Cananda or the tour company? Two differnt compaounds in a close area.
Bring your skis or snowboard to do some turns on Parkers Ridge. The ride is going to be hard no matter what way you go. The scenery however will make the pain go away. I recommend for bike stuff go to Freewheel Cycle in Jasper (biased cause I used to work there).
Be sure to have some easy gears for example a triple crankset will be very nice to have. The climbs are loooonnnnnggggg. So are the down hills. As posted before pack everything, it does get all sorts of weather during the day. Also keep your eyes open for the sheep on the road.
I lived in Jasper for 10 years so I can tell you every turn and place to go and see. Hiking boots are also a must.
Thanks for the information. The elevation maps are exactly what I was looking for. I’ll be staying right at the Icefields (hotel) on a little “holiday” and planning long rides from there for 3 days in each of 2 consecutive weeks. I live in Edmonton and we really don’t have the big climbs that I feel I need at this point in the season.